At the end of the First World War, Germany was demonised. The Treaty of Versailles contained a 'war guilt' clause pinning the blame on the aggression of Germany & accusing her of 'supreme offence against international morality'. Thirteen Days rejects this verdict. Clive Ponting also rejects the thesis that Europe in 1914 had reached such a boiling point that war was bound to erupt & the theory that the origins of the War lay in a mighty arms race. He argues that the War occurred primarily because of the situation in the Balkans, while he gives full weight to Austria-Hungary's desire to cripple Serbia instead of negotiating, & to Russia's militaristic programme of expansion. Clive Ponting begins with a dramatic recreation of the assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June. He then examines how things spiralled out of control during the weeks that led to war. The tension builds as his story criss-crosses the capital cities of Europe & describes developments day by day, &, latterly, hour by hour. The First World War destroyed the old Europe. Nearly nine million soldiers were killed & twenty-one million wounded; over ten million civilians died. By the end of the War, three great European empires
- Germany, Austria-Hungary & Russia
- had disintegrated. Why did the War happen? In 1914, the states of Europe had been at peace for forty years, & every diplomatic dispute had been resolved peacefully. Thirteen Days describes failures of communication, fateful decisions & escalating military moves; it is an extraordinary narrative of personalities & diplomacy in the dying weeks of an era in which telephone networks were in their infancy & governments relied on telegrams in code & face-to-face meetings of ambassadors.

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At the end of the First World War, Germany was demonised. The Treaty of Versailles contained a 'war guilt' clause pinning the blame on the aggression of Germany & accusing her of 'supreme offence against international morality'. Thirteen Days rejects this verdict. Clive Ponting also rejects the thesis that Europe in 1914 had reached such a boiling point that war was bound to erupt & the theory that the origins of the War lay in a mighty arms race. He argues that the War occurred primarily because of the situation in the Balkans, while he gives full weight to Austria-Hungary's desire to cripple Serbia instead of negotiating, & to Russia's militaristic programme of expansion. Clive Ponting begins with a dramatic recreation of the assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June. He then examines how things spiralled out of control during the weeks that led to war. The tension builds as his story criss-crosses the capital cities of Europe & describes developments day by day, &, latterly, hour by hour. The First World War destroyed the old Europe. Nearly nine million soldiers were killed & twenty-one million wounded; over ten million civilians died. By the end of the War, three great European empires
- Germany, Austria-Hungary & Russia
- had disintegrated. Why did the War happen? In 1914, the states of Europe had been at peace for forty years, & every diplomatic dispute had been resolved peacefully. Thirteen Days describes failures of communication, fateful decisions & escalating military moves; it is an extraordinary narrative of personalities & diplomacy in the dying weeks of an era in which telephone networks were in their infancy & governments relied on telegrams in code & face-to-face meetings of ambassadors.

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A classic Rendellian loner, Mix Cellini is superstitious about the number 13. Living in a decaying house in Notting Hill, Mix is obsessed with 10 Rillington Place, where the notorious John Christie committed a series of foul murders. He is also infatuated with a beautiful model who lives nearby
- a woman who would not look at him twice. Mix's landlady, Gwendolen Chawcer is equally reclusive
- living her life through her library of books. Both landlady & lodger inhabit weird worlds of their own. But when reality intrudes into Mix's life, a long pent-up violence explodes.

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A classic Rendellian loner, Mix Cellini is superstitious about the number 13. Living in a decaying house in Notting Hill, Mix is obsessed with 10 Rillington Place, where the notorious John Christie committed a series of foul murders. He is also infatuated with a beautiful model who lives nearby ...

A classic Rendellian loner, Mix Cellini is superstitious about the number 13. Living in a decaying house in Notting Hill, Mix is obsessed with 10 Rillington Place, where the notorious John Christie committed a series of foul murders. He is also infatuated with a beautiful model who lives nearby ...

Nick Warren was just like any other boy growing up in the 70s, he liked playing out & being a little sod, & loved his younger brother & sister. Then one day when he was six, his mother kissed him goodbye to go shopping & never came back.

Nick

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